Title:

Characterizing the Lipid and Protein Concentrations in Phytoplankton

Phytoplankton are single cell algae that play a key role in modulating atmospheric CO2 and ocean carbon sequestration. As well, Phytoplankton are the base of the marine food web. The knowledge of individual phytoplankton species nutritional quality is not well understood in Great Bay, New Hampshire. We are trying to implement the trends of lipids and proteins per cell in phytoplankton to better understand the role nutritional quality plays for important aquacultured organisms such as oysters. This was completed by sampling at high and low tide from early spring to late fall in Great Bay. The particulates in each sample were gently condensed into a smaller volume using 1.2 um polycarbonate filters. Samples were then frozen at -80C until analysis. In the lab, nine phytoplankton species were cultured and then measured for protein and lipid concentration using a spectrophotometer. It was found that the larger the cell size of the phytoplankton species, the larger the lipid or protein concentration. This is important because we can evaluate the nutritional quality of phytoplankton and apply this knowledge to better understand its role within aquacultured organisms.

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